Tag: Halloween

Ah, the memories of Halloween. I enjoyed dressing up each year and going trick-or-treating. Living in a neighborhood with many kids and watchful parents, meant that we could all go as a big group and have a great time being out late at night, hanging out with all of our friends. My favorite costume from all the years was a pink Crayola crayon that mom made for me. I wish I had a picture of it to post here. Back then, I never thought much about the beginnings of Halloween or what it truly was celebrating.

After I became a Christian, I began to struggle with this holiday the most. I began to learn about its roots and I became uncomfortable celebrating or taking part in festivities. However, it’s hard to make any changes, especially when my husband doesn’t feel the same conviction and I have two young children who love the dressing up and candy as much as I did as a kid.

There have been a few times when I’ve had to dress up. Those few times, I’ve picked subversive characters. The idea being that if I had to dress up, then I was going to dress in a character that could portray light. One year, I dressed as Ruth. This year I dressed up as sheet music; a Christian song, of course. For the most part, though, I don’t bother with costumes.

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I’m at the point where I want to find ways to shine the light on this darkest of day. At work, I can’t openly proclaim The Message because they are afraid of lawsuits related to religious discrimination. I may not totally agree with that, but I respect the owner’s wishes and keep things low key and individualized. The owner hasn’t stopped me and others at work from having Bible studies during our lunches, so I count my blessings there. It was a Bible study at this job that led me back to Christ. I feel that by dressing in “characters of light” I am speaking softly to those around me.

Another way my family has begun to shine some light on this day is to give out full size candy bars with tract cards attached to them. We got the idea last year when our children received the same treat from someone else in our neighborhood. We prayed over the candy this evening and we will have faith that seeds will be planted where God wants them to grow. I am especially hopefully that the teens who have stopped by receive the Word on this night.

Sometimes we have to live in the dark, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use a flashlight to shine some light in the darkness.

I pray everyone has a safe Halloween and God blesses each person, whether they stopped at my door or not.

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Update, 11/1 – My mom found and sent me a picture of the pink crayon costume. Posted with the others in the slideshow.